Ghana

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You don’t have to be able to read German to recognize the message below as a standard African 419 scam message, just by its format. The scammer claims to be an African bank official (a common pitch), and if you’ll just help him extract some money from his bank you can have a cut of the proceeds. It may be in a different language, but it’s the same old scam.

Here’s a rendering into English from Google’s automatic translation service. It’s fragmentary, of course, but it shows the message for what it is:

Good day to you,

My name is Mr. Nii Okai Nunoo, Area Head of Corporate Affairs in a bank here in Ghana. I’m in the high opinion on a Business At Hand contact that is both of us privilege a chance for lifetime favor.

It is the sum of $ 11,500,000.00 (11,5 million dollars) by a berziehung By foreign DUTCH reps Ge ungekl Rt was. I have this agent placed on with no Beg nstigten In a Nastro-Vastro account account. As a detective and head of accounting, it is my duty to send a financial report to our regional headquarters.

However, I need your honest bottom Estimation and cooperation, so I Can use ro my position in B, this means channeling legally on your behalf as Nstigter in cash and 50% in exchange your bottom-take estimation.

Are you interested contact me only on my e-mail with your name, address and telephone number to: an40637@gmail.com

Thank you,
Mr. Nii Okai Nunoo

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This is a classic example of the old “dying widow scam” complete with all the trimmings: a rich late husband, poor orphans, a few weeks to live, and Biblical invocations. (See more examples of dying widow scams.) This example is better written than most, and because it isn’t in broken English it just may trick a few people — don’t fall into the trap!

I am Mrs.Elizabeth Schubert now undergoing medical treatment.I am married to Dr.Schubert who worked with German Embassy in Republic of Ghana before he died in the year 2006.

We were married for eleven years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days.Before his death we were both born again Christians. I decided not to re-marry or get a child outside my matrimonial home, which the Bible is against. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of US$6,500,000.00 with a Bank in West Africa, this money is still with the Bank.

Recently, my Doctor told me that I would not Last for the next three months due to cancer and what disturbs me most is my stroke. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to church or better still a Christian individual that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct here in.

I want a church or individual that will use this money to fund churches, orphanages and widows propagating the word Of God and to ensure that the house of God is maintained. The Bible made us to understand that blessed is the hand that giveth. I took this decision because I don’t have any child that will inherit this money.

I cannot rely on family and closest relatives any more, as they did not show responsible behavior when I entrusted part of my wealth to them to distribute to charitable organizations but instead used the money for their personal needs.

To prevent any more mishaps, my attorney will act as a check, monitoring every aspect of the Charity organizations.

I sincerely request for your assistance in this humanitarian work. I want the bank to transfer the fund to your bank account so that you will use 80% of the fund to help the following people:

1, Motherless babies.
2, Widows.
3, Disable people.

The 20% of the fund is for you and your family, if you will accept to do this humanitarian work. You will promised me that you will not disappoint me when the fund will be transferred to your bank account there in your country, and you will also assured me that you will use the 80% of the money for the said purpose.

Reply to me urgently if you are interested in this transaction because any delay to your response will give me a room to look for another reliable person for the same purpose, hoping to hear from you.

Whatever the case might be, just put me in prayers at all times.

May the almighty God bless you.

Reply me Back at: elizabethschubert65@hotmail.com

Get back to me for more details.

Mrs. Elizabeth Schubert

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Someone who calls himself “Micheal Brown” (not “Michael Brown”) needs your help to move some money he has been skimming off the top of big government contracts in Africa. If you can just give him access to your bank account, he can temporarily deposit the money there, and he’ll give you a cut for your trouble. This is a long one:

Compliments of the day to you. I hope your doing well and that this letter meets you and your family in good health.

On my honor, I want to introduce myself, my name is Dr. Micheal Brown, I am the chairman of Contract Tender Board/Award Committee of West African Health Support Organization (WAHSO) we have our headquarters in Accra Ghana from where I operates but our sub and area offices are in all member states of the organization. This organization is an arm of the Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS). It is the largest single organization operating here in West African sub-region with 15 member states and my organization sees about health support related matters in the whole region.

In 2009 there was an outbreak of cerebral meningitis in many member states of our region including Mali, Republic of Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde. The outbreak of this disease and its rapid spread was alarming and a disaster so my organization was mandated by the regional executive body to immediately take every necessary action to bring the situation under control. We swung into action in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO). We awarded contracts to various drug manufactures and large drug distributing companies both in South Africa, Europe and Asia for supply of drugs and related services for both cure and prevention of the disease from spreading to other states.

The contract entered with those companies was initially meant to last for one year but unfortunately we found out before the end of the contract that we grossly underestimated the situation at hand then the contract was extended for more one year and more companies were also engaged in the war against the disease and its spread which ended in early 2013.

During the deliberations and the processing of the contracts, myself and members of my committee connived and inflated the value of the contract to the tune of 28.83 million usd. The contract has been completed long before now and full payments made to all the suppliers of both drugs and services used in the fight against the disease while the disease itself has been declared flushed in the areas.

The balance of the inflated amount has been floating in the balance sheet of the agency’s account and recently the bank manager wrote and required me to forward account where the remaining of the balance will be paid to. It is on this regard that I am inviting you to come and partner with us so we can move this fund out of Africa for our collective interest.

What we need is for you to provide a durable account that we would use to receive this money for the benefit of all of us. We made up this mark up in order take care of our retirement benefits because some of us in this committee are due for retirement soon and we believe this will help in no small measure to effect great change in our generations coupled with the fact that the project was a multi-million dollar one so it provided a very unique and great opportunity for us all.

If you will want to partner with us as a businessman you will know that you must be able to provide an account that will have the capacity to contain the volume of money involved and then we can negotiate with you the protocol and sharing formula of the money.

We are matured men in the highest cadres of our careers and would want to protect both our reputation which we have worked hard over the years to build, our family names, careers and grown up children we have, so we would want you to take this transaction serious and give it it’s desired attention if you accepts this partnership.

Please confirm the receipt of this message and let us know your position immediately.

Even if there were such a person as “Micheal Brown” and even if this over-invoiced contract did exist, what he is proposing is of course illegal and you would likely get arrested. But the whole proposal is a scam from the beginning: there isn’t and never was any over-invoiced contract. There’s just a scammer trying to gain access to your bank account. Study the information and examples we have here on ScamHunter.org so you will be able to recognize scams like this in the future.

Who wouldn’t want to help an orphan — especially a wealthy orphan who would like to share a fortune with you! Rich orphan scams are one of the classic types of advance fee fraud. They are the children of deposed dictators, or millionaire businessmen who died in plane crashes, and somehow they got your name and need your help. “Kelly Motanga” is the latest example:

This mail may come to you as a surprise base on the fact that we have not met. Please I need your help my name is KELLY MOTANGA am 26 years of age the son of a late minister during the reign of President Mobutu SeseSeko in Democratic Republic of Congo I decide to contact you because I believe you are a reputable person and I felt you can help us over this confidential matter.

My father was killed during the rebel attack and our house was burnt down We manage to escape to IRELAND with my mum and kid sister where we are now taking refuge.

Before the death of my father he deposited 20 MILLION DOLLARS with a Security Company in Ghana. When my late father heard of the plot to kill him, he instructed the Security Company in Ghana to move the boxes containing the Money to OVERSEA by diplomatic Courier Service.

But unfortunately my Father could not escape out of CONGO he was eventually killed, though he could not claim the Boxes before his untimely death. The boxes is presently in Under the care of the Diplomat that moved it to OVERSEA is in the care of the diplomatic shipping company that take it to OVERSEA but the Diplomat or the Customs don’t know that it is Money that is in the Boxes.

My late father partner that we contact to help us receive the consignments is acting very greedy and we do not trust him anymore so my mum put a stop to the delivery of the consignments to him. Please we need you to help us receive the consignments in your custody.

More so, We need you to help us invest this money in a lucrative business your country and take us as one family and you will also buy a house for us over there where we can live safely. We are prepared to compensate you with 20% of the money for your assistance.

Please I am counting on your integrity and honesty to be able to handle this business transaction. I hope to hear from you soon.

Best Regards,
Kelly Motanga.

Unfortunately, if you reply, “Kelly” will string you along with a million stories until you’re the one sending the money, and then “Kelly” will disappear, never to be heard from again.

This is a standard-form advance fee fraud message. There’s an over-invoiced account and money stashed in an anonymous bank account. If you claim to be the owner, we can get it out of the country and you can have a cut. Simple, yes? Simple for the scammer when he finishes picking your pocket, yes indeed.

Pardon me for not having the pleasure of knowing your mindset before making you this offer as it is utterly confidential and genuine by virtue of its nature. I write to solicit your assistance in a funds transfer deal involving US$3.5M.

This fund has been stashed out of the excess profit made two years ago by my branch office the International Commercial Bank which I am the manager. I have already submitted an approved end of the year report for the year 2008 to my head office here in Accra-Ghana and they will never know of this excess. I have since then, placed this amount in a Non-Investment Account without a beneficiary.All fees as regards this transaction will be taken care by a financier and not you.So bear in mind that you are not asked to pay any fee so whatever.

Upon your response,I will configure your name on our database as holder of the Non-Investment Account.I will then guide you on how to apply to my head office for the Account Closure/ bank-to-bank remittance of the funds to your designated bank account.

If you concur with this proposal, I intend for you to retain 30% of the funds,10% for the financier while 60% shall be for me.

This is a routine bank scam message, albeit with a florid subject line. As in the familiar “over-invoiced account” scams that often circulate, a supposed bank official, “Frank Wuddah,” claims to have concealed excess profits that you can share if you’ll just help to transfer them out of Ghana. In reality there are no excess profits and no bank official; from beginning to end the story is made up, and it’s designed to get some of your money into the scammer’s hands.

Sorry for not having the pleasure of knowing your mindset before making you this offer as it is utterly confidential and genuine by virtue of its nature. I write to solicit your assistance in a funds transfer deal involving US$3.5M.

This fund has been stashed out of the excess profit made last year by my branch office of the International Commercial Bank- GHana, which I am the manager. I have already submitted an approved end of the year report for the year 2008 to my head office here in Accra-Ghana and they will never know of this excess.

I have since then, placed this amount in a Non-Investment Account without a beneficiary. Upon your response, I will configure your name on our database as holder of the Non-Investment Account. I will then guide you on how to apply to my head office for the Account Closure/ bank-to-bank remittance of the funds to your designated bank account.

If you concur with this proposal, I intend for you to retain 30% of the funds while 70% shall be for me.

Plane crash scams are certainly popular, aren’t they? In this version, Mr. Richard R. Lyons has left behind an unclaimed fortune in an abandoned account, and you can have a cut if you just help to get it out of the bank in Ghana where it is currently trapped. It sometimes seems as though every person who ever died in a plane crash was a millionaire with a secret bank account somewhere in Africa.

I am Mr.Antonio Perez from Accra, here in Ghana. I work in one of the banks in Ghana. I am writing you from my office because of an opportunity that will be of an immense benefit for both of us. In my department, being the Manager Credit and Foreign Bills(Accra Regional Office),I will need your assistance in this business transaction.I would like you to stand as the next of kin to my deceased client,Mr Richard R. Lyons, who died in a plane crash in January 8,2003 plane crash.Check the website for the details of the plane crash:

http://aviation.crosswindlanding.com/accidents/air_midwest_5481.htm

He was a construction magnate who made a deposit of $21.4Million with our bank.He died without any registered next of kin and as such the funds now have an open beneficiary mandate. And the banking ethics here does not allow such money to stay more than seven years,because the money will be recalled to the bank treasury as unclaimed bill after this period.

On your confirmation of this message and indicating your interest, I will furnish you with more details.

“George Nduka” is the manager of the International Commercial Bank of Ghana. Or maybe he isn’t since his email address is in Canada. He says he’s been skimming money for a while, and wants to cut you in on the profits if you’ll help him cash out. The message is a standard advance fee scam, but suppose it wasn’t: do you think getting involved with international financial criminals would be a smart thing to do?

Pardon me for not having the pleasure of knowing your mindset before making you this offer and it is utterly confidential and genuine by virtue of its nature.

I write to solicit your assistance in a funds transfer deal involving US$3.5M.This fund has been stashed out of the excess profit made last 2years by my branch office of the International Commercial Bank of Ghana which I am the manager.

I have already submitted an approved end-of-the-year report for the year 2007 to my head office here in Accra-Ghana and they will never know of this excess.

I have since then, placed this amount on a Non-Investment Account without a beneficiary. Upon your response, I will configure your name on our database as holder of the Non-Investment Account. I will then guide you on how to apply to my head office for the Account Closure/bank-to-bank remittance of the funds to your designated bank account.

If you concur with this proposal, I intend for you to retain 30% of the funds while 70% shall be for me. Kindly forward your response to me immediately

With Regards,
George Nduka
+233 24 888 6531

Study the resources we have available here at ScamHunter.org so you won’t fall into the fraudsters’ traps, and share this scam alert with your friends today!

Bah! It’s another inheritance scam from an orphaned millionaire. The young man has a fortune in the bank, but he needs someone to stand in as beneficiary — and that would be you. Alas, there’s really no money in his bank, and what Mr. “Baah” wants to do is get some of the money in your bank and then vanish into the night.

This proposal might be a surprise to you but do consider it as an emergency. In a nut shell, I am James Baah, 18 years old from the Republic of Sudan, East Africa, now am seeking asylum (refugee) in Ghana

I’m contact you for a possible transaction of my late father’s funds that were deposited in the Bank in Ghana, the deposit documents indicate me as the next of kin. Presently, I am saddled with the problem of securing a trust worthy foreign personality to help me as follows:

(1) Stand on my behalf in Ghana as the beneficiary for the claim of the inheritance from the Bank since the bank advised that I should solicit for an individual or corporate organization to claim the deposit for me as they cannot release it directly to me due to my age and refugee status in Ghana.

(2)Transfer the money over to your own country and into your possession pending my arrival to meet with you.

(3)Invest and manage the money for me in a good business pending my maturity.

(4) Help me secure my traveling documents to meet you as soon as my money is transfer to you.

I will make you a joint partner of 30% out of the total sum of $13.5m, Furthermore, on the acceptance and confirmation that you will help me, the letter of authority will be issued in your name that will enable the Bank to deal with you on my behalf. I am giving you this offers as mentioned with every confidence on your acceptance to assist, adopt me as your son and manage the money for me, Thanking you in advance for your anticipated and swift response on receipt this letter.

This is an insidious scam. The body of the message below appears to have been lifted verbatim from a legitimate Ghana development website. The scammer has converted it to his own use by tacking a signature on the end and a “Dear Sir/Madam” on the beginning. Because the whole text is stolen from a legitimate site, it is better written and more persuasive than ordinary scam copy. How can you tell it’s a scam? For one thing, legitimate organizations almost never send unsolicited mass mailings: if you hadn’t signed up for Ghana development news through some online service, there is no reason you should be receiving a message of this kind. But the more conspicuous clues can be found, as usual, in the embedded email addresses. Would a legitimate business organization in any country be using a free hotmail address for its official correspondence? And what’s more, would an agency in Ghana have a reply-to address in Romania?

Ghana’s wealth of resources, democratic political system and dynamic economy, makes it undoubtedly one of Africa’s leading lights. Gaining the world’s confidence with a peaceful political transition and a grounded and firm commitment to democracy has helped in expediting Ghana’s growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years.

Ghana has attracted the attention of well-known international businesses, investing in all sectors of our economy. All these investors have come to Ghana because they know we have a wonderful conducive social, political and economic environment in which they can invest, grow and be successful.

Building on significant natural resources, our dear nation is committed to improving its physical infrastructure. Moreover, Ghana has recently embarked on an ambitious but achievable reform programme to improve the investment climate for both local and international investors. These efforts have paid off tremendously with Ghana being recognised by the World Bank as a Top 10 Reformer (Doing Business Report, 2008) for the second year running. Ghana also won the award for “Best Investment Climate” at the CBC-African Business Awards of 2008. Also with the difficult times during last year where most countries did not show good growth levels due to the global economic downturn, Ghana had an economic growth rate of 7.3% which is unprecedented in our history.

As happy as we are to receive such recognition, we are even happier to see increased investments and reinvestments in Ghana as a result of these ongoing reforms. Just this last year alone, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre registered over US $ 3 billion worth of investments. As is evident, Ghana’s highest recognition has come from the investor community.

Ghana, like our dear family Nigeria, has a solid tradition of investments in agriculture and agro-processing. The financial services and telecommunications sectors are fast gaining ground, providing dynamic and innovative services to the most diverse customers in the world. Further opportunities exist in manufacturing, ICT, and Tourism. Mineral deposits including gold and diamond abound, and with the discovery of oil, Ghana’s famous black star has never shone brighter.

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre wish to welcome you all to our beautiful country. We trust you will find our reputation for unparalleled hospitality well-deserved, and our ability to triumph in challenging circumstances as steadfast as ever. We re-affirm our commitment to moving our continent forward and look forward to very useful engagements between all stakeholders.

Indeed we are looking forward to doing business with you once you indicate your areas of interest.

Our Allies

Important Note

Please be aware that scammers often use the names of real people and legitimate businesses in their fraudulent messages. Why? To lend an air of legitimacy to their criminal enterprise. Just because the name of a real person or a real bank or a real government agency appears in a scam message that doesn't mean the person or organization in question is involved in the scam in any way. The scammers are just stealing these names in order to make themselves look legitimate.